Recently, one of my ferrets got her foot stuck in the gap that runs
along the edge of the shelf in her Ferret Nation cage. She was
hopelessly stuck, screaming, and flailing around wildly while hanging
upside down from one foot in the middle of the cage, and I am so
thankful that I was right there when it happened - I can't imagine how
much she might have suffered if this had occurred while I was not home.

I quickly fabricated some plastic covers to conceal the gap, and made a
note to make some for the shelter where I volunteer (which I have not
done yet) and to contact Midwest Cages and bring the problem to their
attention (which I also have not done yet!).

Today I noticed this thread on the Everything Ferret board:

http://everythingfert.proboards36.com/index.cgi?board=talk&action=display&thread=1166651833

Apparently, Midwest is aware of this issue, and from what I can tell,
they are providing replacement shelves free of charge to those who
email a photo of their current shelves. The difference in the new shelf
is that there is no opening or gap along the edge of the shelf where
the ferret can get their foot stuck.

If you use the Ferret Nation cage, you should cover up this gap so that
feet cannot become stuck. One very simple solution is to use a piece of
fabric to cover the entire shelf or just the end, and clip it in place
using spring clamps. Then, see what you can to do get replacement
shelves from Midwest.

These are great cages but this is a potentially serious design flaw,
and I'm glad that Midwest is taking steps to remedy this problem.

Jack

FerretsFirst Webmaster
http://www.ferretsfirst.org

[Posted in FML 5467]